the Pens have a little bit of tweaking to do. This was not a horrible end all weekend for the Pens. In fact, I think this can be used as a positive to build off of. Maybe it is good that they got beat so soundly the last two games. It shows where the Pens need to make some adjustments.

1. The Penalty kill was outstanding for the most part, they just took to many penalties. That can be fixed.

2. Their powerplay moved the puck well, and performed pretty well. It has gotten better each week.

3. They do need to work on their even strength scoring. This is an area that needs to be worked on. They seem to be creating chances, they just need to find the back of the net. IMO they need to dump the puck in more and bang some bodies, create turnovers and get shots on goal. Right now they all want to carry the puck through 3 players and it is not working.

The weekend was not the end all, if played correctly it could be the beginning......

The Devils have won their 5th straight so they're kind of on one of those streaks where they're playing well and getting the bounces, and it seemed like the opposite for the Pens. I don't believe the Pens are any worse of a team...there's moves and adjustments to be done but I'll leave that up to the GMs and y'all to talk about, I'm just typing this because I'm bored.

The Pens with playing with emotion is 100% better than trying to be detached; like last night.I'll never take Kris Letang for granted. The team/coaches need a day away from the ice. As Badger Bob would say, go see a movie.

I agree. I have been more upset after some penguins wins than i have been after last nights loss. The penguins did not play all that bad, it was just a case of the devils playing their system perfectly. That happens sometimes.

I thought it was painfully obvious those last two games how much we miss Tanger and Niskanen. Not so much for their defense but for their passing in transition. Against a team like the Devils you need that more than ever.

Pens game plan: carry the puck up the right side if the ice, don't dump it in, 3 guys from the other team will converge on you and take the puck. Rinse, wash, repeat. And whatever you do don't hit anybody.

Gaucho wrote:I thought it was painfully obvious those last two games how much we miss Tanger and Niskanen. Not so much for their defense but for their passing in transition. Against a team like the Devils you need that more than ever.

The pens could never breakout, constantly bottled up. Meanwhile, NJ exited the zone without seeming to exert the slightest effort. Those guys are important, but something is also systematically wrong.

Gaucho wrote:I thought it was painfully obvious those last two games how much we miss Tanger and Niskanen. Not so much for their defense but for their passing in transition. Against a team like the Devils you need that more than ever.

The pens could never breakout, constantly bottled up. Meanwhile, NJ exited the zone without seeming to exert the slightest effort. Those guys are important, but something is also systematically wrong.

But there wasn't anything "systematically wrong" when we beat them 5-1 a week ago.

Missing some key defensemen hurts on both sides of the puck and the Devils system was played perfectly. I feel like we could agree for the most part that the Pens are one of those teams that gets frustrated/impatient and gets away from their own system and try to do too much singlehandedly as each minute goes by, which just feeds the beast of teams like the Devils.

The Pens looked like a quick strike team not a puck possession team this weekend and that creates turnovers and chances for the 'wait and see' teams.

1) Letang and Niskanen take a lot of pressure off of our forwards in our own end.2) This team will struggle when the offense is forced onto the sticks of anyone other than Crosby and Malkin

Number 2 is much easier to do for the opponent without Number 1 in place. This should be a concern come the playoffs, because the Devils approach every game like this in the regular season. For a comparison to the NFL - the Devils gameplan for every regular season game and most teams are not as focused on detail. Come the playoffs though, EVERY team gameplans.

I agree with the folks last night that were shining the light on Dupuis as an issue on Crosby's line. He is very streaky and at times every play seems to die on his stick as he mangles a play with his cement hands. That effectively kills Crosby's line and then all the focus can be on Malkin and Neal.

This weekend showed us what we already know: when faced with any adversity, this is a .500 hockey team. With Letang out and Sid & Geno not producing, the rest of the players are easy to defend. The players tend to get easily frustrated, particularly the forwards, and take bad penalties that lead to goals. These are the same problems that have been emerging since the 2009 Cup, and they continue to be unresolved.

Of the 3 games I attended this year, the Penguins have a combined 3 goals and have been outplayed/coached badly. I could think of a million things I could have spent $500-$600 on. Saturday and Sunday were a mirror image of one another and absolutely no adjustments were made. I'm tired of watching Crosby and Malkin skate in circles with the puck and turn it over. We have $10 million in cap space and STH are assured every year that the best product is being put on the ice. This teams needs a net front presence. When I'm paying these kinds of prices, I expect to see a much better product on the ice. I felt the same way after the playoffs the last 3 seasons. IT'S THE SAME RESULT. I can honestly see another 4/5 playoff matchup in the future and another early exit in the first round. I believe we will be seeing either the Rangers or Devils as the 4/5.

C4 Row E wrote:Of the 3 games I attended this year, the Penguins have a combined 3 goals and have been outplayed/coached badly. I could think of a million things I could have spent $500-$600 on. Saturday and Sunday were a mirror image of one another and absolutely no adjustments were made. I'm tired of watching Crosby and Malkin skate in circles with the puck and turn it over. We have $10 million in cap space and STH are assured every year that the best product is being put on the ice. This teams needs a net front presence. When I'm paying these kinds of prices, I expect to see a much better product on the ice. I felt the same way after the playoffs the last 3 seasons. IT'S THE SAME RESULT. I can honestly see another 4/5 playoff matchup in the future and another early exit in the first round. I believe we will be seeing either the Rangers or Devils as the 4/5.

RxBandit66 wrote:This weekend showed us what we already know: when faced with any adversity, this is a .500 hockey team. With Letang out and Sid & Geno not producing, the rest of the players are easy to defend. The players tend to get easily frustrated, particularly the forwards, and take bad penalties that lead to goals. These are the same problems that have been emerging since the 2009 Cup, and they continue to be unresolved.

I'm at the point where there are a few things that need to be changed.

1. Winger. I think Zach Boychuk is a good hockey player, but I don't think he's 2nd line material on this team. Which leads me to --- He's better than Tyler Kennedy. I'd like to see Boychuk on the 3rd line and TK in the nacho box. However, I think they will make a trade for a winger and he will play on Sid's line. They will move Kunitz back to the Malkin line to see if they can get the chemistry from last year.

2. Lack of Veteran Leadership. This team really needs a Gonchar/Guerin type of player on it. It is really missing that vocal leader that can calm down before things explode...like they did in NJ.

3. Trade. So, who do you trade for? Iginla, Ryan, Gagner, Malone have been thrown out there. Ryan O'Reilly would be an interesting pick-up, if Shero could get him off his 5 years, 25 million contract demands.

I really like what I've seen from Bortuzzo. However, if he plays then we need to sit Engs.

guiner wrote:Before you ditch Boychuk to third, just swap him with Kunitz and give that a go. The kid obviously has hockey sense to play with top talent, he know where to go and makes plays.

I'd be all for that if they can land a player of Iginla's calibur to play on Sid's wing. Give him a shot with those two guys, and if he fails, put Duper back there. Right now, Duper's hands of stone is killing that line, and Kuniz has been great for three games and invisible for the rest. They need to be more consistent.

guiner wrote:Before you ditch Boychuk to third, just swap him with Kunitz and give that a go. The kid obviously has hockey sense to play with top talent, he know where to go and makes plays.

I think Dupuis is the biggest issue on the top 6 right now. I know your thinking is that Kunitz played so well with Neal and Malkin, but he is also the only guy on Crosby's line who is working with Sid right now. Maybe changing Boychuk/Dupuis between the lines would spark something.